I came late to Pati Jinich’s Mexican Table via her award-winning PBS series, now in its 10th season. But I am making up for lost time with the help of Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), the glorious cookbook that dives deep into her home country’s regional cooking.
Through 150 recipes with smart detail and history, armchair travelers, weekend warrior cooks, and folks who long to make authentic dishes will find plenty to learn and love in Treasures of the Mexican Table. If I appear to be fangirling, it’s because I am. Jinich makes it clear through her expertise and authority that Mexican cuisine sings with complex flavor profiles. One size does not fit all meaning, for example, that the seafood-rich food served in coastal Mexico is different from the long-cooking meat dishes of the interior. Oh, and the mastery of spices rivals anything that comes out of the Indian kitchen.
Jinich’s editor and publisher is the legendary Rux Martin, who has shepherded cookbooks by Dorie Greenspan, Jacques Pepin, Carla Hall, Ina Garten, and Marcus Samuelsson, among others, and now has her own publishing imprint. Martin’s genius corralled Jinich’s far-reaching knowledge into a book that will likely become a go-to Mexican cuisine reference book. Photographer Angie Mosier’s work adds earthy inspiration.
The recipes showcase all manner of protein, even with a small section on eggs. Brunchworthy recipes include Yucatecan Huevos Rancheros and Oaxacan Eggs in Roasted Tomato Salsa, which reminds me of the increasingly popular Middle Eastern shakshuka. As you might expect, the chapter “Tacos, Quesadillas, Burritos, and Tamales” is extensive, as is “Salsas, Pickles, and Guacamoles.” I am on a chile rellenos kick these days and recently tackled the unfried cheese version Jinich made on her show and am planning to make the fried version from the book. (Jinich—@PatiJinich—is active on Twitter and regularly interacts with followers, especially when they have questions about recipes.)
I recommend the Tinga de Pollo con Chorizo y Papa—Chorizo Chicken Tinga with Potatoes, a popular dish throughout central Mexico and specific to the city of Puebla . Shredded chicken is cooked in a chipotle-tomato sauce and the mixture can be used to make tostadas, tacos, burritos, or quesadillas. It is not a long-cooking dish so it’s suitable for a weeknight dinner, especially if you take Jinich’s suggestion to use canned tomatoes and the meat from a rotisserie chicken. I did.
My underused tortilla press is going to get more use this year thanks to Treasures of the Mexican Table.
